This invention is directed to a single newspaper dispenser, and particularly such a dispenser adapted to retrofit into existing newspaper racks.
In order to increase the numbers of sites at which the public can buy newspapers, newspaper racks have been developed. They normally are located in a place where large numbers of the public pass by, as on the sidewalk in a well-traveled area. As compared to an attended news vendor stand, a newspaper rack permits more such locations for purchasing a newspaper and does so at a lower overhead.
The conventional newspaper rack is a closed structure with an openable front door. When a coin is deposited, the door is opened by the buyer and a newspaper is withdrawn from the stack of papers therein by the buyer. In view of the fact that there is a plurality of papers available to the buyer's hand, he may take out more than one. Of course, if he only pays for one paper, the withdrawal of more than one is unprofitable to the newspaper publishing company. Thus, it is desirable to provide a structure wherein a single newspaper can be withdrawn. Furthermore, in view of the fact that there is a large number of such newspaper racks on the streets today, it is desirable to have a single newspaper dispenser which is capable of being retrofitted into the existing newspaper racks.
The prior art has recognized the problem of withdrawal of more than a single newspaper from today's conventional newspaper rack. The prior art recognizes that it is desirable for economic purposes to permit withdrawal, or cause dispensing of only a single newspaper for each payment. However, the prior art solution to this problem has been to create an entirely new and specially designed newspaper-vending machine. For example, Cameron U.S. Pat. No. 2,501,434 discloses a stack of newspapers raised by springs against a pusher plate which has a rear hook engaging over the rear edge of the newspaper so that forward movement of the pusher plate causes a single newspaper to be dispensed through a narrow slot. Knickerbocker U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,733 discloses a newspaper-dispensing machine wherein a single newspaper is manually withdrawn from the top of the stack, with the slot being sufficiently narrow so that only one newspaper can be reached.
Gordon U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,864 describes a newspaper-vending machine wherein the bottom newspaper on the stack of newspapers is withdrawn by engaging it with a series of teeth to drag the newspaper forward through a vending slot. Hawks U.S. Pat. No. 2,612,426 discloses a newspaper-vending machine which uses sharpened points in a feed starter mechanism to engage the top paper of the stacked newspapers, and the feed starter moves the top newspaper to engage between a pair of rollers which then feed the top paper out through a chute slot. Watlington U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,250 uses pivoted dispensing fingers with penetrating points for engaging and moving the topmost paper into a vending chute in his newspaper-vending apparatus. From this background, it is clear that the prior art has not achieved the most desirable objective of being able to retrofit existing newspaper racks. Furthermore, the prior art has not solved the problem of dispensing a single newspaper from a stack wherein from day-to-day the newspapers in the stack will be of different thickness and to dispense the newspapers without damage thereto.